Peter Houston lauded his Falkirk side for going to the wire on Friday night as they broke Hibs' hearts in the final moment of the play-off semi-final.

The Bairns had lead through Blair Alston but James Keatings' quick double turned the tie in Hibs' favour before the break.

But Luke Leahy's volley with 11 minutes remaining squared the aggregate score at 4-4 before Bob McHugh struck in the final minute of injury time to send Falkirk through to a final with Kilmarnock.

Bob McHugh scores a dramatic, last-gasp winner for Falkirk to send them into he promotion play-off final

Hibs are now facing a third year in the Championship.

Houston said: 'I was speechless at the end. I thought in the first 30 minutes we were good and played really good stuff.

'We were on the front foot right from the start and got the goal. The penalty kick spooked us a bit and a couple of minutes later Keatings scored a magnificent header and all of a sudden we are on the back foot.

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'In the first 20 minutes of the second half, Hibs were very good and probably if they scored then the tie could have been over but credit to us – we kept at it.

'It was a special goal from Luke Leahy – he showed great composure when he struck the ball to get us back into it.

'When it came to the 92nd minute , I said before the game that we'd go for it. We'd both our centre halves in their penalty area for what was probably the last kick of the ball.

'Lee Miller won the first header and Bob McHugh – with five out of six – scores the winner. 'It's the best time to score as there's no comeback and no chance of Hibs getting anything from the game.

Falkirk manager Peter Houston applauds his players, and praised their 'character and desire' in the win

'It was a tough, tough match. Admittedly they've got better quality than us but not as much character and desire - we've got that in abundance and again, not for the first time this season, we've shown that character, desire and willingness to go that extra yard.

'That's got us the result tonight. We could have sat on it and taken extra time but we wanted to go for it right to the end. We did at away at St Mirren, against Rangers. They never know when they are beaten this team.'

Houston lavished praise on McHugh who he picked up on a free transfer after he was freed by Motherwell last summer.

Houston said: 'It was great to still have him on the pitch to score. Bob has been chapping my door these last few weeks to get in the team.

'It wasn't me who took him out of it, it was injuries.

'I brought him here to play and the one thing I knew was he knows how to score goals. He goes in where it hurts.

'There's a knack to that - it's a gift.

McHugh and his team-mates celebrate the goal, which came seconds from the end of the semi-final second leg

'He's in there again, waiting for his chance.

'We wanted him to bring us some pace and get them turning. He's not played 90 minutes for while so it was great to have him still there to get the winner.'

Falkirk entertain Killie on Thursday before the return at Rugby Park next Sunday.

'Kilmarnock will be a tough game,' Houston added. 'They are a Premiership side, even though they have not had their best season.

'We've watched them these last three weeks and seen their system. We saw them at Hamilton and they how they are capable of big results.

'They have guys who can score goals, like Boydy, who's a finisher.

'We'll need to be at our best to go up.'

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Peter Houston left 'speechless' by dramatic Falkirk win after Bob McHugh's late goal